Seven
Sorrows is best played with 4 players which helps
retain some semblance of the intended Gauntlet experience.by Vaughn Smith

January
5, 2006 - I
can't trash a classic like Gauntlet. It's the original
four-player co-op, dungeon crawling, hack-and-slash
game that all others are compared to - including Seven
Sorrows. When you trace the origins of the Gauntlet
series back to the arcades it's easy to see why gamers
fell in love with it. Up until Gauntlet arrived on
the scene, multiplayer games were virtually non-existent.
With a depth never before seen in a coin op, gamers
flocked to arcades and pool halls to work their way
through the dungeons in search of secrets, treasure
and adventure.

Seven
Sorrows takes the heart of the original Gauntlet and
runs with it which might confuse gamers expecting
something along the lines of Dark Legacy. Originally
Seven Sorrows was to be a far deeper experience (note:
arcade depth and home console depth are not even on
the same scale) but due to a troubled development,
many of the grandiose plans for Seven Sorrows were
left by the side of the cobblestone road. What we
are left with is an entertaining 4 player game that
is more twitch gaming than RPG, but it's fun while
it lasts.

The
backstory of Seven Sorrows is actually deeper than
the gameplay, but if you're one of those who needs
an excuse to hack and slash, it will definitely help.
The Four immortal heroes aptly named the Valkyrie,
the Elf, the Wizard and the Warrior were betrayed
by the Emperor of the Uricointi Empire who secretly
coveted their immortality. Thanks to some mis-information
spread by one of his 6 magical advisors he became
convinced that the four heroes were responsible for
his misfortune. In a classic double cross, the Emperor's
six trusted and powerful advisors turned on the Emperor
after the heroes had been stripped of their immortality
and confined to the Great Tree Rit'i Malki. Realizing
his error and using the last of his magic power, the
Emperor freed the heroes and now requires their help
to rid the world of the 6 sorrows he has spread to
the world. Conveniently this task is thrust upon you
as it's now your responsibility because you bought
the game. Talk about being in the wrong place at the
wrong time!

Aside
from the boss battles, the focus of Seven Sorrows
is to hack, slash and combo countless waves of monsters
while attempting to make your way to the generator
that keeps pumping out these abuses of nature. Keep
repeating this process and you'll find yourself at
the end of the game, most likely sooner than you'd
expect. There is no arguing that Seven Sorrows is
a short game although you can increase the longevity
by playing alone, but what fun is that? The role playing
elements involve increasing your individual characters
attributes by spending the cash you find on new moves.
Admittedly some of the moves you begin the game are
good enough to carry you through most of the adventure,
but there are some fancy shmancy moves that curious
players will want to purchase, if only to change things
up a bit.

Seven
Sorrows manages to improve upon the feeling of individuality
which hasn't been evident in previous Gauntlet games.
For example playing as Elf is distinctly different
than playing as Valkyrie or the Warrior and I believe
that to be Seven Sorrows greatest strength. Control
of each character is responsive and tight and I suggest
wringing every ounce of playability out of GSS by
completing the game with each character.